TIMELINE

3 A.M. POLICE receive information that armed men are moving in and out of the gated compound in Albuera, Leyte province,  where the three mansions of  Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. and his son Kerwin are located.

3:30 a.m. Police organize three teams to conduct surveillance of the houses.

4 a.m. The teams arrive at the highway along Barangay Tinago and start walking toward the Espinosa compound.

5:30 a.m. A team led by Chief Insp. Jove Espinido engages in a gun battle with armed men outside the house of the mayor.

5:45 a.m. Six bodies are seen after the 15-minute firefight—two outside the house of the mayor, two outside the house of Kerwin and two on the road.

6 a.m. Bursts of gunfire are heard several meters away from the Espinosa house as police chase armed men.

8:15 a.m. A team conducting hot pursuit operation returns to the compound empty-handed. Robert Dejon, Inquirer Visayas